Macrophages specifically regulate the concentration of their own growth factor in the circulation.

A Bartocci, DS Mastrogiannis… - Proceedings of the …, 1987 - National Acad Sciences
A Bartocci, DS Mastrogiannis, G Migliorati, RJ Stockert, AW Wolkoff, ER Stanley
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1987National Acad Sciences
The physiological mechanism of clearance of the mononuclear phagocyte growth factor,
colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), from the circulation of normal mice was investigated by
following the fate of a trace amount of iv injected 125I-labeled CSF-1. Macrophages
selectively cleared CSF-1 by CSF-1 receptor-mediated endocytosis and degraded the
growth factor intracellularly. This manner of clearance provides a feedback control
mechanism whereby the rate of macrophage production is determined by the number of …
The physiological mechanism of clearance of the mononuclear phagocyte growth factor, colony-stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1), from the circulation of normal mice was investigated by following the fate of a trace amount of i.v. injected 125I-labeled CSF-1. Macrophages selectively cleared CSF-1 by CSF-1 receptor-mediated endocytosis and degraded the growth factor intracellularly. This manner of clearance provides a feedback control mechanism whereby the rate of macrophage production is determined by the number of mature macrophages.
National Acad Sciences